“Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and I want to rise and sing the praises of our Democratic Members on the House Budget Committee, led by the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Van Hollen.

“Thank you for bringing us a balanced budget to the floor, a balanced option on how we go forward, to the floor. Yes, we know we have to make cuts, we have to increase revenue, but most of all we have to increase jobs. Growth is what is important. And what a difference between these two budgets – the budget that Mr. Van Hollen is proposing, and the Ryan Republican budget, is that the Ryan Republican budget loses jobs. The Van Hollen budget, the Democratic budget, is a job creator. It’s a job creator, it also invests in education – think of it, if you’re a student and you have a student loan, on July 1st, your interest rate will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, Ryan Republican budget says: ‘that’s just fine.’ The House Democratic budget prevents that from happening.

“And if you’re a senior, the Ryan budget takes you down a path where the Medicare guarantee is cut, you may have to spend $6,000, or more, for less, in terms of benefits. All the while, while not protecting our students, while not creating jobs, while not protecting our seniors and their Medicare, the Ryan budget gives over $300,000 tax break to people making over a million dollars a year. How can that be? How can that be?

“The more people know about that budget, the more they know that it hurts them in their lives. The budget that is put forth by the House Democrats is a positive one for economic growth, for investing in our small businesses, for honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of America, for strengthening the middle class, for building ladders of opportunity for people who want to work hard, play by the rules, take responsibility, for them to succeed, as we reignite the American dream.

“So, I thank you, Mr. Van Hollen, for your leadership in putting a budget forth that is responsible, that honors our commitment to future generations, that reduces the deficit in a positive way. As opposed to Mr. Ryan’s Republican budget that doesn’t get to deficit reduction, or any of that, until close to 2040.

“I mean the contrast could not be greater. The impact on America’s families could not be greater. Just think: seniors pay $6,000 more for fewer benefits in Medicare, while they give $300,000 tax cut to the wealthiest people in our country.

“You be the judge. Is that a budget that is a statement of your values?